The Story of Temple Drake (1933)

Absolutely the worst movie.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Infamous Pre-Code Movie that is often Cited as one of those that brought the Hays Code as the Predeterminer of all Things out of Hollywood. It was Banned in Pennsylvania and Ohio, and once the Code Took Effect, the Do-Gooders made it Clear that this one was Never to be Re-Released in Any Form. Thanks a Bunch.Because of all the Hoopla this was a Rarely Seen, until recently, Film that was "Lost" for Decades. Then when it did Resurface in Bad Prints and were a Disappointment at Best and Impossible to Watch at Worst. But Recently, thanks to TCM and others, a New 35MM Print has been Restruck and Pre-Code Fans were Salivating to get a Glimpse at this Faulkner Story that was Considered Unfilmable. But Paramount did Film it and Release it with a Title Change, because the Book was as Infamous as the Movie would Become. The Book, "Sanctuary", was considered Lurid Trash. The Movie, "The Story of Temple Drake", was considered Lurid Trash. So Everyone Wins, so to speak.It is Quite a Ride with Miriam Hopkins Playing the Lead, a Late Teen Southern Belle with a Family History on Her Side and a Beau always at Her Side who were Always Invited but Never let into "The Temple". A Scrawl on the Bathroom Wall says it All..."Temple Drake is a Fake...She Wants to Eat and Have Her Cake".The Movie is Divided Distinctly in Two Parts. First are the Fancy Free and Gay Party Scenes where Temple Bounces from Boy to Frustrated Boy, comes in at Dawn and is Happy just to Dance and Drink the Night Away.Part Two is a Gothic Horror Story that Pulls Few Punches. The Fantasy Daydream has become a Nightmare when Temple Finds Herself Stranded in an Old Dark House with Hillbilly Horrors.There are Filthy, Sweaty Men Lusting after Her Disrobed, Pre-Code Female Form and this Climaxes with a Barnyard Rape and a Stockholm Syndrome Situation. Jack La Rue is the Bootlegger, Pimp, Murderer, Rapist, that has Temple Under His Spell and after Spending some Nights in a Brothel, the Final Act of Capitulation, the Courtroom Conclusion is brought about so Things can be Set Righteous. This is a Racy, Raunchy, Sordid Story of Sex, Murder, and Drunks. All Surrounding a Southern Family. Class Structured Elitism Exposed in the William Faulkner Way with a Heaping of Pre-Censorship, Expressionistic, Hollywood.Note...This is one of the most written about Pre-Code Films and there is much more information to be found elsewhere with in depth discussions about the Film's History.

Faulkner dismissed his novel Sanctuary as a "pot-boiler", although he liked the character of Temple Drake well enough to bring her back in a later novel (Requiem for a Nun). Both novels have greater complexity and moral ambiguity than the screenplay for The Story of Temple Drake could possibly capture in 70 minutes of film. The movie lacks Faulkner's depiction of how rich and poor don't have equal access to justice, but does portray how those who enjoy an elevated social standing aren't always more virtuous than those they look down upon. The elaborate film sets illustrate this when Temple crosses the divide between the elegant party scene and the bootleggers' foreboding farmhouse. In the novel, the lawyer Benbow (whose first name is Horace) is less enamored of Temple and much more concerned with defending his client Lee Goodwin (and Goodwin's companion Ruby Lemarr) from prejudices both legal and social. In the film, Ruby briefly alludes to prostituting herself in order to get Lee out of prison.SPOILER: The sudden ending of the film is the opposite of what happens in the book. Suffice it to say that in Sanctuary, Temple is untroubled by conscience and unswayed by Benbow. The bad guy gets away, and the good guy doesn't. It's my favorite of Faulkner's early novels.Miriam Hopkins does well portraying the two sides of Temple Drake (with a stronger Southern accent than anyone else in the film). Florence Eldridge convincingly conveys her contempt for Temple. Jack La Rue shoots daggers with his depthless eyes, but the screenplay can't possibly capture the complexity of Trigger's character, known as Popeye in Faulkner's underrated novel.

Story of Temple Drake, The (1933) *** (out of 4) Notorious pre-code tells the story of Temple Drake (Miriam Hopkins), a Southern Belle who uses her beauty to turn men on only to quickly throw water on them. To Temple turning men on is just a joke but when a date takes her to a dangerous bar, she's quickly held hostage by a bootlegger named Trigger (Jack LaRue) who will stop at nothing to feed his lust. THE STORY OF TEMPLE DRAKE was highly controversial when it was first released and in large part it was one of the main reasons that the Hayes Office would have to finally stand up and keep on eye out for the "products" being released by Hollywood. Seen today the film is certainly less shocking but there's no doubt that the subject matter is still rather touchy and especially the "wannabe" bad girl who finally gets broken down when sexually, physically and mentally abused by an evil man. I think the best thing going for the film is the performance by Hopkins who was clearly born to play this role. Even though the film runs a very short 70-minutes and a lot of the material from the William Faulkner novel has been left out, the character of Temple Drake still goes through quite a bit of developments. Hopkins nails all of them and I really loved the early scenes where she was just playing the men to get them worked up so that she could just dump them and then move onto the next. These scenes with the actress are perfectly done but she also handles the later moments when she's terrified of what's going to happen to her and then of course at the end when she's broken down. I was also impressed with LaRue who gets to shine even if the screenplay doesn't do too much justice to him. William Gargan plays the lawyer who also just happens to be in love with Drake and he too is pretty good. Flrence Eldridge really stands out in her role and those with a quick eye can spot John Carradine in the courtroom. The pre-code elements are somewhat strong with a rape and several sexual moments with Hopkins either stripping down or showing off her legs. The most notorious scene happens when she strips down to her bra and panties only to have one of the thugs rip off a coat that she's wearing and the viewer gets even more of a glimpse of her. At 70-minutes the film moves extremely fast and there's no question that film buffs will want to search this one out.

I've read and heard about this movie since way back when I was in high school...1959!!!.....Was so pleased to finally get to see it, and in such a beautiful print!!! on TCM..I was never much of a Hopkins fan, but you have to admit, this was truly an 'Oscar'-caliber performance!!!! Too bad this country is full of hypocrites; back then as well as now!! But then, that's how it was back then, which was too bad........I was amazed that TCM gave it a '14' rating.......what for? there is no visible rape; it's only implied.My only gripe was Florence Eldridge; she was made up to NOT look like the character she was supposed to be; she looked more like some glamorous dame who just changed into a frumpy house dress; actually, the more I think about it, the more jarring her appearance was, and in a very small way, detracted from my enjoyment of this movie!!!.......I am going to watch it again after reading others' comments on this site!! On a side note, I detested the National Legion of Decency; how arrogant to think that they & only they could determine what the 'little people' should see on the screen!!!! preposterous!!!!.........thank goodness times have changed...........